The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ...

for German language

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, along with the

Goethe Prize The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt (german: Goethe-Preis der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, links=no) is an award for achievement "worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" made by the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was u ...

. The award is named after dramatist and writer

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

, author of ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' and ''

Leonce and Lena ''Leonce and Lena'' (german: Leonce und Lena) is a play by German dramatist Georg Büchner (1813–1837) which is considered a comedy, but is actually a satire veiled in humor. It was written in the spring of 1836 for a competition 'for the best ...

''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded annually for authors "writing in the German language who have notably emerged through their oeuvre as essential contributors to the shaping of contemporary German cultural life".

History

The Georg Büchner Prize was created in 1923 in memory of

and was only given to artists who came from or were closely tied to Büchner's home of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

. It was first awarded in 1923. Among the early recipients were mostly visual artists, poets, actors, and singers. In 1951, the prize changed to a general literary prize, awarded annually by the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

. It goes to German language authors, and the annual speech by the recipient takes place in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. Since 2002, the prize has been endowed with €50,000.

The Georg Büchner Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature

Five winners of the Georg Büchner Prize,

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...

(1965),

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

(1967),

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her t ...

(1972),

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

(1973) and

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voi ...

(1998) were awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in subsequent years. The Georg Büchner Prize is frequently seen as an indicator for potential future Nobel Prize winners writing in the German language. Most recently, however, the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

in Stockholm preceded the

German Academy for Language and Literature German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in awarding a prolific writer from the German ''

sprachraum In linguistics, a sprachraum (; , "language area", plural sprachräume) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken. Characteristics Many sprachräume are separ ...

''.

Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Nițchidorf (german: Nitzkydorf, link=no), Timiș County in Romania, her native language is G ...

received the Nobel Prize in Literature but has not yet been awarded the Georg Büchner Prize.

Recipients of the literary prize, since 1951

Oliver Mark - Botho Strauß, Uckermark 2007

Recipients 1923–50

*1923 Adam Karrillon (1853–1938) and

Arnold Mendelssohn Bust of Arnold Mendelssohn, at the Holy Trinity Community Cemetery, Berlin Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn (26 December 1855 – 18 February 1933), was a German composer and music teacher. He was born in Ratibor, Province of Silesia; the son of Feli ...

(1855–1933) *1924 Alfred Bock (1859–1932) and (1882–1954) *1925

Wilhelm Michel Wilhelm Michel (9 August 1877, Metz – 16 April 1942, Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 i ...

(1877–1942) and

Rudolf Koch Rudolf Koch (20 November 1876 – 9 April 1934) was a German type designer, professor, and a master of lettering, calligraphy, typography and illustration. Commonly known for his typefaces created for the Klingspor Type Foundry, his most widel ...

(1876–1934) *1926 (1880–1954) and Wilhelm Petersen (1890–1957) *1927

Kasimir Edschmid Kasimir Edschmid, born Eduard Hermann Wilhelm Schmid, (5 October 1890 in Darmstadt – 31 August 1966 in Vulpera (Switzerland)) was a German expressionist writer. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1928 ...

(1890–1966) and (1890–1957) *1928 Richard Hoelscher (1867–1943) and (1884–1966) *1929

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was t ...

(1896–1977) and Adam Antes (1891–1984) *1930 (1884–1962) and (1858–1935) *1931

Alexander Posch Alexander Posch (21 June 1890 – 2 August 1950) was a German painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), of ...

(1890–1950) and (1897–1982) *1932 (1882–1949) and (1904–1970) *1933–44 ''not given'' *1945

Hans Schiebelhuth Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

(1895–1944) *1946

Fritz Usinger Fritz Usinger (5 March 1895 – 9 December 1982) was a German writer, poet, essayist, and translator. In 1946 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize by the German Academy for Language and Literature for his literary oeuvre. Awards *Georg Büchner ...

(1895–1982) *1947

Anna Seghers Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of a German writer notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian ...

(1900–83) *1948

Hermann Heiss Hermann Heiss (29 December 1897 – 6 December 1966) was a German composer, pianist, and educator. His work was part of the music event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Life Heiss was born in Darmstadt and studied compositio ...

(1897–1967) *1949 (1895–1984) *1950 Elisabeth Langgässer (1899–1950)

Notes

External links

Georg-Büchner-Preis
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Georg Buchner Prize

Buchner Buchner is a German surname. Notable people with this surname include the following: * Andreas Buchner (1776–1854), German historian * Annemarie Buchner (1924-2014), German Olympian * August Buchner (1591–1661), German influential Baroque po ...